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Category Archives: Yvette's Dev 13 to 24 mths

Yvette was first introduced to sticker when she first attended the Baby Class (PlayNest) in JGC. Over the months, her love over sticker has become an obsession. She love them so much and now they are all over the house.

Luckily it’s still within our control, she still doesn’t dare to stick them on the wall. Most of them are on the cupboard, easel and toilet door that can be easily removed without effort.

But still, her obsession over stickers is still a pain on our neck because, every time she comes in contact with them, she will urge very hard asking us to buy!

Yvette always love to shake her body together with the music played in the background. Be it a nursery rhymes, any Chinese song, English Pop, Malay, Indian, Hokkien, or even Cantonese songs or just any music; she will shake her body.

I brought the latest album of SHE and was fairly disappointed with it. Their songs are not as nice as before but still, I will always support them!

Sometimes when I am in this room to do some ironing, Yvette will come and join me. I will always turn on my CD and listen to them. And my dear little child will dance along the music and this girl certainly love to dance!

Well …Ever since sleep problem surfaced when she was 20 mths old, she’s never been interested in going to bed. I remember she used to be a sleeping baby. She sleeps so well during her infancy days and these are all history now.

Her sleeping pattern become harder to adjust due to the playgroup I sent her and we only back home around 2 pm in the afternoon, and she only nap from 3pm sometimes as late as 4 pm and only wakes up past 6pm in the evening. She created a new record that really shocking.

Last Friday was good. She nap at 2 plus in the afternoon and woke up at around late 3 pm. Then at night she slept at around 10 plus which I think this is something I wish to achieve in long run.

Saturday was out of my expectation. Sometimes, we know, it’s always hard to get Yvette to nap in the afternoon especially we are out. So we stay at home to get her to nap (stick to her usual routine) before executing our outing in the evening.

Unlike many toddlers, many will drink milk in the afternoon before their nap. This act as a comfort food for them and making them feel secure and eventually send them to the slumber. For Yvette, she doesn’t drink Formula and drink very little milk. And moreover, I started to wean her off from breast this month; I try not to nurse her to nap and sleep at night, making her “desire” to sleep less.

As such, she last thru the whole day, playing with her father throughout the whole afternoon and never showed any signs of wanting to nap at all!!!

Finally we decided to give up and head Ikea. When we were back in the evening, she kicked some fuss and slept at 9 pm.

Today, she won the battle again.

Daddy was off in the morning to work and Yvette didn’t want to nap as well. Finally D was back and Yvette was so happy and started to with him. Again, she played and played. (Yvette is someone who will try to play every single toys she could find at home.) I try to bring her to sleep by me lying down on the bed with her, and eventually I dozed off. She’s still awake and kicking.

At 4.30pm, we finally gave up the idea of asking her to nap. Off we went to do some grocery shopping. We went to my mum’s place around 6.30pm. She had dinner and I bathed her there.

There she went, knocked out at 8 pm. She slept for about 1 over hours and she woke up to pee and only went back to her slumberland at 10 plus.

I know my 2-year-old is still trying to bend the rules and so sleeping problem becomes common. She doesn’t want to miss her exciting day, but encourage good sleeping habit is always my motto. I really don’t wish Yvette be part of the toddlers who would transition to no nap by the time they are between 2 to 3 years of age!

This happened before she turned two, in fact, this happened when she was 16th to 17th months old. She will lead us to the place that she wanted to go and she has never made any extra turns to reach the destination.

Besides, knowing her way home, the way to my mother’s place, my SIL’s place she also knows the following:

Where are the two sinks at these two supermarkets (Shop & Saves & NTUC) we shop our groceries. She also knows the direction of some stores in Toa Payoh Central too.

The direction of the nursing room in Forum shopping mall. (I think it’s an achievement for a 2yo to take 3 escalators down from JGC and walk to nursing room herself.)

Today we went Ikea, she walk to the playground in the Eatery herself. (We went Ikea like every 2-3 months rotating from Alexandra and Tampines.) (We didn’t eat there today. So it her own initiative to walk there herself.)

I am surprise Yvette has a sense of direction under her finger tip at tender age of 2!

P/S: There are still some places she knows but I can’t recall them now.

She loves to knock all the blocks down and having a lot of thrill from it.

About 1.5 months before she turned 2, she changed. I started to see her love to build and stack and never destroy or knock them down anymore.

She will patiently waiting for us to build and form. She will engage herself in this activity with us.

We gotten this Mega Block from Aunty Stella as a present. And Yvette loves it very much. (Thanks Aunty Stella.) She will play with them almost everyday and love building things now. Sometimes she will just sit alone at one corner and happily stacking up the mega blocks.

This evening, I fixed a House on the Wheels and a plane. When I told her, a plane can fly, she said: Mama, my house can fly too.

As HFM Disease on the rise, all mothers will step up to ensure our child’s cleanliness is well control of. I receive an sms from my friend who her child gotten HFM recently. And I feel sad for her. It’s really not easy to be a mum in this fast moving society.

Here our Exchanged SMS:

** She seeks second opinion on HFMD because she didn’t see the common signs for HFMD.

Friend: Went for 2nd opinion. Doctor say it doesn’t look like the ‘classical’ HFMD as there are no obvious blisters or ulcers but will have to treat it like one since there are rashes and a slight fever. It could still be one of many stains of the virus. She was put on a nebulizer for her cough.

ME: Aiyo poor child!

Friend: She has croup cough also. When she coughs she sounds like a seal! Not nice at all. And she can’t sleep at night. Last night was the only night she slept for almost 12 hours. She has never slept for more than 10 hours at a time since birth. She was completely exhausted.

ME: You need to ensure she breathe well. Cos that can easily lead to bronchitis.

Friend: I know. She has been having a runny nose for more than 2 weeks too. It’s one viral infection after another. The worst thing is I’m also starting to feel sick. Sigh. I wonder if her diet doesn’t give her enough nourishment to boost her immune system. She’s now refusing drinks too. So difficult, I feel like crying.

Oh dear, I am thinking. I quickly picked up my phone to call her.

I told her it is perfectly normal for an active toddler to fall sick and YOU mother here (*smile* thanks) tell me the same too. I shared Yvette only sick once in her first year but the only Medical Leave she applied for was due to Bronchitis. And moreover, we have constantly exposed our child to classes, where some sick child might be there too. There is no way; we can fight against virus in the air! They are so contagious!

I also suggested she hire temp help such as nanny if so happen both she and her helper were down. I told her to drink plenty of fluid and take Vitamin C to keep her immunity system going. I keep my finger cross on receiving any more “BAD” news from her.

Isn’t hard to be a mum in this fast moving society?

Many mummies work. When they work, they will send their child to childcare and this will become a constant test on a child’s immunity system. The child will fall sick due to fatigue; being hanging around with sick child (most child care policy on letting a sick child to attend school is normally no fever, not having croup cough and no more running nose with plenty of mucus). With that, they generally will fall sick.

Coming back to Yvette, I don’t have a good record for her in her second year.

Even after discounting the fever due to teething, she was sick for 5 times including this round. (She is having running nose and coughing now). Not a good record har?

Well, on the account that she attends 3 playgroups with JGC and one swimming lesson on Friday; I will like to give a pat on my shoulder. That not a bad record after all.

Managing our child immunity system is always one of the top priorities. As Yvette is not a foodie, I constantly need to ensure she eat properly, sleep timely so that her immunity system will be robust. I also do give her multivitamin and fish oil to boost up her immunity. And now, I also practice the 5-seconds rule on food dropped on the floor. In the past, I do not allow her to pick up food on the floor to eat even at home, now I started to believe little germs will help our child to grow. And hopefully it really does! However, as I mentioned earlier, virus is always in the air waiting to invade. It’s definitely not an easy job to keep our child healthy.

I grew up in a family using cane all the times where else hubby was caned only twice in his entire life.

I am the Devil Mum where else Hubby is the Angel Dad.

I know Yvette will only listen when I am harsh, eg like Spanking, to her where else Hubby believe in softer approach.

Today she created a new record for her bedtime. She only dozed off at 1.30 am after I decided to walk out the room.

For the past two days, she woke up at 7 plus in the morning. She slept early on Friday because she is on medication due to low grade fever. (Her fever was gone for good as of now.) For today, she was up and playing with hubby around 7.15 am and never nap until 3.15 pm. She woke up from her nap crying; properly due to lack of rest, at 6.15pm in the evening. We went out in the evening and were backed home around 11 pm.

Usually she will doze off around 12 midnight (if we were out late) but today, she simply refused to sleep even after I smacked her leg. The last draw I took, which I am not too sure she will eventually sleep, I went out the room and left her crying in the room with Hubby.

She cried for a good 5 to 10 mins and hubby couldn’t bear her crying so hard for me, he let her out of the room and we went back together. She took my order willingly this time, hug her bolster and position herself in her usual sleeping position. She stopped making noise and in less than 15 mins, she was into her slumber.

Haiz…

Why it’s so difficult for her to sleep?

Honestly, I know, I am not alone. Some of you may be facing the same problem with me will be able to comprehend my agony. But still, I always ended up so angry with her and myself because of getting her to sleep timely.

Sadly I really don’t how to get the pattern right.

How come she got so much energy? Waking up at 7 in the morning and only nap at 3.30pm after I forced her to!

Now I can only wait till her term with JGC end and readjust her routine. I seriously hope by then we will be fine!

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Sweet & Sour Days

Hi, I spent for close to 3 years of my life being a SAHM after Yvette was born. I am now a Full Time Working Mum enjoying every bit of my life with my family and my only dd, Yvette. I realise that most of the stuff that makes life great aren't the big things, but the little minute details. With that, I decide to record and share my experiences here.....So that when I look back, I could remember how I have spent my life!